That Mother, Please Stop Crying

Ashley could not suppress the surprise on her face.

Waiting below the stage, she began checking her tablet incessantly the moment Ryan started speaking.

Vought International's level of concern for their superheroes—specifically the Seven—was exceptionally high.

Since the turn of the new century, they had established the "Department of Public Opinion, Sentiment, and Public Image Monitoring," an agency with diverse branches and a massive staff, to track the dynamic data of every superhero in real-time.

This department utilized a trinity of offline polling, internet monitoring, and trend statistics to provide a comprehensive assessment, ultimately aggregating the data into a public approval rating.

Before this interview, Homelander's approval rating had plummeted by ten percentage points due to a civilian casualty caused by his private actions.

But after Ryan spoke, Homelander's real-time approval rating, topic engagement, and the proportion of positive comments all surged into the red.

Beyond that, what made Ashley even more delighted was that Ryan's appearance had successfully ignited the entire internet just as she had predicted; a promotion and a raise—and escaping the threat of death—were finally within reach.

"The most critical part is coming up next; please, let there be no more accidents, amen!"

Ashley prayed devoutly.

That "sorry" from the little ancestor Ryan just now had truly terrified her; her heart was still pounding.

Thinking this, Ashley double-checked the data analysis and suggestions regarding Ryan sent over by the risk control team.

[Network-wide Topic #Ryan's Debut Heat Index: 12.4 million, topped the growth charts within 10 minutes]
[Public Opinion Verdict: 97% positive sentiment, no risk keywords, no intervention required]

"Phew, it's stable."

For once, Ashley tore her gaze away from the tablet and fixed it on the stage.

Host Cameron was just transitioning to the next segment, and loyal Ashley began to grow nervous again.

"Homelander, your child just shared some of his wonderful thoughts very bravely; I must say, it is truly admirable."

"He has the same blood flowing through him as I do; he is destined to be extraordinary."

"Indeed, he has a great father."

Cameron affirmed his statement, then shifted the tone of the conversation: "So, for the next part of our dialogue, I hope you can also share your true thoughts with us."

"That goes without saying, I never hide my... my... thoughts from you."

Azu habitually answered, but his heart skipped a beat halfway through the sentence, and his voice wavered.

Because he had messed up his lines.

When he reached this point, he was supposed to follow up with: "Of course, I am willing to share my perspective."

Note: "Perspective," not "true thoughts."

A perspective was an attitude toward a certain matter; it was meant to allow him to deliberately avoid the core requirements, leaving him free to remain silent on certain parts.

Then, according to the script Ashley had prepared, Ryan would be guided by the pre-briefed host to step forward and apologize while he remained silent and appeared grief-stricken.

The muscles at the corners of Azu's mouth twitched uncontrollably; he was suddenly a little panicked.

Cameron was also a little panicked.

Homelander had gotten his lines wrong, and a disaster was about to unfold. Did he... did he have some other plan?

Biting the bullet, Cameron continued her hosting duties.

She pulled out the question cards prepared in advance, and after a few standard, routine questions, her expression turned solemn.

"Homelander, actually, among the online leaks from early this morning, there is one issue we are all very concerned about."

"In the video, we saw that during an operation to strike down a supervillain, you seemed to have accidentally killed a civilian."

"Regarding this matter, will you..."

The conversation reached a dead end.

The original script called for Homelander to be overcome with grief, appearing so remorseful that he could barely speak.

But right now, Homie was still panicking.

His mind was still filled with regret over the words that had just slipped out, and he was completely unable to get into character.

If you asked him to fake a smile, he wouldn't hesitate; he would immediately, right then and there, give you a "Homelander smile."

"I saw that video too!"

"Uh, part of it..."

Just then, Ryan, who had been quiet throughout this entire segment, suddenly spoke up, taking over the conversation that Cameron had almost stalled on.

Azu looked over in astonishment.

Ryan's little face was tightly knit: "That wasn't a very good thing."

He gave a definitive conclusion first.

Then, he used language befitting his status to smooth things over: "Although Dad was worried it would scare me and destroyed those screens immediately, I still found out."

"Wait a moment, Ryan."

That was more like it.

Cameron breathed a sigh of relief; the rhythm was back.

Although Homelander had missed the mark by failing to express his grief, it didn't matter. Skipping over him might weaken the show's impact slightly, but that was a minor issue.

The priority was to get back on script.

She asked, "Ryan, how did you find out about this? As far as I know, the video was deleted immediately after it appeared."

"I heard it, and I saw it."

Ryan's answer was somewhat contradictory.

Didn't your father turn off the screen? How could you have "heard and seen" it?

But some clever viewers realized in the next instant that this child had inherited Homelander's superpowers—he had super vision and super hearing!

"So, it was super vision and super hearing?"

"Yes."

Hearing the answer she had anticipated, Cameron exclaimed in surprise.

This question was completely outside her scripted flow; she had just been curious, and she believed the audience on television and the internet felt the same.

And indeed, the moment Ryan confirmed it, the live stream's chat was instantly flooded with two phrases.

[Live Broadcast]

[Top-tier Audio-Visual]

The netizens always had their priorities straight, and their perspective on the issues was incredibly professional.

"Son, you awakened super vision and super hearing? When did this happen? I didn't even know."

Ryan was visibly flustered, stammering as he tried to deflect: "It's just... um... well, Dad, I didn't mean to keep it from you."

The father-son exchange on the show and Ryan's panicked reaction drew knowing smiles from the audience.

Who didn't have little secrets they didn't want their parents to know when they were kids?

Like secretly having a crush on the person sitting in front of you, quietly doodling in the corner of a textbook, or accidentally staying up all night reading a novel...

At the time, you kept all those little flutters and clever tricks tightly under wraps, terrified that your parents would see right through you.

But after growing up and becoming a parent yourself, you think, Heh, I'll just pretend I don't know.

On set, Ryan's performance continued. He was still flustered and speaking without thinking: "I just wanted to watch the whole video."

"I also heard them say that Homelander can't make mistakes, that people trust you."

"They also said that killing is always wrong..."

Wait, wait, wait!

Stop!

Cameron, off-camera, grew anxious once again.

He had said the wrong thing; he shouldn't have said it like that at this moment.

She hadn't even started guiding the topic yet; how did it look like Ryan was about to start apologizing on Homelander's behalf?

Ryan didn't wait for her, nor did he give her a chance to interrupt.

With every camera in the studio focused on him, he turned his head to look at Azu with great seriousness: "Dad, I think I'm starting to understand what a superhero means to everyone."

"What?"

Azu asked, puzzled.

Then he heard his son voice his naive realization: "It's hope, Dad."

"To everyone, Homelander is like the hope in Darkest Hour!"

"That's why they say you can't make mistakes. That's why I thought, if Homelander can't make mistakes, then it shouldn't matter if Homelander's son makes one."

"Dad, can I apologize to the innocent people who were hurt?"

After asking, Ryan didn't wait for Azu to answer; he floated up and landed in the center of the stage.

He looked directly into the camera: "When I make a mistake, my mom criticizes me severely, and then she gets angry at herself and cries."

"I saw that brother's mother crying too, but the sounds of their crying were different."

"Yes, they were different."

"Seeing her like that, I felt here..."

Ryan touched his heart, his eyes reddening: "It hurt so much, so I want to say to that brother!"

"And to his mother, I'm sorry. Please, don't cry anymore!"

Ryan bowed deeply.

His tears splashed onto the floor the moment he lowered his head.

The studio fell silent. At this moment, the eyes of the entire world were focused here, and at the same time, they were struck dumb with sorrow.